Category: SL13B – Second Life

Finally we are getting to the best part of SL13B – the discoveries made at the exhibits of places to visit and activities to partake in all year round. While many exhibitors have made their exhibits the standalone installations with a certain statement (usually dedicating their exhibit to Shared Adventure, the theme of this year’s community celebration), many exhibitors have allowed themselves to represent something existing on the big Grid – places, communities, activities. You have already seen the first article of the series, dedicated to performing arts of Second Life, and here, we are moving on to what SL13B exhibitors can offer us. Let us see what we have discovered!

We begin with the Beguile region, rich on various Second Life communities exhibits.

Visiting to get acquainted with the place or the community is the obvious option, but I have also added the “Involvement level” meter to give you an idea of how much time you may expect to invest in the community or activity to really experience it. The levels are going like this:

Seasonal – you’ve got a shot in it when the time comes, don’t miss it;

Short-term – come anytime for a visit, no obligations;

Long-term – stay for a while, there will be certain expectations;

Second lifetime – change your second life forever;

Voluntary – any of the above will work fine.

Note: I have not thoroughly explored and researched every one of them, but merely listed them as objects of interest in Second Life, therefore do not expect elaborate descriptions. If you are inclined, you are most encouraged to go to each of the listed locations and communities and explore them by yourself!

Note 2: This list will be short on arts, because there is a little less than 50% chance that you have encountered an art exhibit or an exhibit that represents an art gallery or some other art-related venue. Next most popular category, Second Life Communities, has clocked about 15% of total exhibits. With all my respect to all existing forms of art, I firmly believe that a virtual world is first and foremost about interactivity, and seeing it becoming a platform for passive observation breaks my heart. There are a number of bloggers who will promote art installations in Second Life. I will not be one of them. Not this time at least.

Note 3: Many of the “finds” are going to be well-known locations, activities and communities. May this series of listings serve as a reminder of their existence and awesomeness.

Note 4: Sorry folks, no pictures, at least this time. Take my word – all of the finds are either eye-pleasing or engaging.

Our list for Beguile kicks off, of course, with something related to SL13B itself, and that will be the Community Celebration volunteers, those that ensure that everything runs smoothly at the Celebration while expecting nothing in return, and the least we can give them is our endless gratitude, respect and appreciation. The exhibit took a form of a friendly hippie shack for visitors to take a break at. Unfortunately, the exhibit did not happen to have any group joiner or any information stand, and therefore one can only guess that the visitor inclined to learn more would somehow discover the way to join the official SLB Community Celebration group.

The place that aims to educate the public about the fatal generic disorder known as cystic fibrosis has made its appearance at SL13B. Provided by Boomer Esiason Foundation, the campus features the main area with info stands (primarily Web-based), the library with a variety of resources on the issue, the administration building with information about the Team Boomer, the art gallery, the student union, the gift shop and a memorial fountain.

Involvement level: Voluntary

Second Life sailing (Exhibit: 10 Years of Sailing)

Search in-world for “sailing” in Places and Groups

Maiti Yenni (maitiyenni)’s exhibit at SL13B one, in my opinion, was one of the most remarkable ones – her exhibit promoted the activity she is passionate about, Second Life sailing, by presenting the volume and richness of this activity. “10 Years of Sailing” took the resident on a journey through time, from the very first Second Life boat to the growth of multiple sailing communities, as well as honouring the memory of some significant figures who, unfortunately, happen to be no longer with us… Communities, events, races – Second Life sailing includes so much more than just riding a boat across Blake Sea over and over. But reading about it is one thing, and experiencing it is a completely another one.

Very well-known recreational area on the grid, Aero Pines Park has rightfully earned a reputation of “a place where there is always something to do”. Horseback riding, log flume rides, hiking through forest areas of the three regions, frequent live events – whenever one feels like experiencing a day in the natural reservation, one is most welcome at Aero Pines. Both individuals and groups of friends will have a way to have fun there.

Here comes the first roleplay community find. Sanctuary is an adult oriental-themed (looks like it at least) roleplay which actively uses the Community Combat System (or CCS), providing starter weapons as well as areas dedicated for the in-world combat. Traditional text roleplay also takes place, evidently. When I grabbed the Welcome Pack and the CCS Info pack, I got about a dozen notecards with information, which tells me that this is a pretty complex combat system, therefore I am going to leave exploring it to those who are inclined.

Residents choose to live their second lives as kids for a variety of reasons – to get a kid’s perspective of Second Life, to avoid unsolicited attention, to rediscover a child in themselves. Loki Eliot, who happens to be one of the pillars of Second Life Kids’ community, has brought our attention to their existence through an interactive installation which is dedicated to the real life kids’ show popular in the… 80s? Taking advantage of the Experiences, he has installed an entire quest similar to the one the participants of the actual Knightmare have to get through. Residents had to work in teams of at least two, which happened to be a disadvantage for me, for I like experiencing things in Second Life on my own. But that is my personal preference. All in all, Second Life Kids are a big community, and one can learn more about them by looking up the groups.

All evidence suggests that this 7-region territory is a home to the Second Life fantasy community – while bearing the word Elf in the name, it is comprised of all the imaginable fantasy creatures living together. One can rent oneself a nice spot at Elf Circle, engage in the fantasy community lifestyle, participate in events and Second Life residents’ favourite pastime – shopping at the local fantasy market, practice in archery and overall have a lovely time in a company of peers.

Eugenia Calderon, the founder of Spanish with Eugenia, had been teaching Spanish in Second Life for quite a long time, and at SL13B, residents got an opportunity to get acquainted with her school not only at the SL13B Auditorium presentation, but also at her exhibit. She uses Second Life interactive options for helping the students better understand and appreciate Spanish both as a language and as a cultural bridge, bringing them to virtual authentic Mexican locations and studying the language at those through lots of live communication. The classes are not free, but considering that they are meant to be a complete alternative to real life classes, this fact should not repel those who take learning Spanish seriously.

Independent artists can be found all over the Grid, as well as some dedicated communities where they can show off and exchange their talent – which The Dirty Grind happens to be. Along with the venue where live music is heard on a regular basis, there is also the radio station, Radio Grind, running 24/7, which any resident can add to their own land – an artistic soul will have no problem finding its retreat on the murky streets of The Dirty Grind.

Anybody who is having a hard time deciding on the roleplay theme they would like to get themselves involved in may look no further – at Weltenville one can participate in several of them at the same time. From medieval to mermaid to biker or pirate, there seems to be no limit in being who you want to be at Weltenville. The place also supports all the popular combat and roleplay systems, is open to all the most popular breedables, supports all the most popular forms of mainland traveling, provides the new user orientation, and overall seems to strive to be everything at once.

Through the Willow Scouts exhibit we can learn about Willowdale, the home community to this Second Life scouts organization. Willowdale is a vibrant family roleplay community which finds its home at the 7 region area, where Second Life residents can enjoy the peaceful modern lifestyle roleplay all together, in case real life is not fulfilling enough. One can be a school student, school teacher, firefighter, policeman or garbage collector – whichever modern role is your dream role!

No, this one is not associated with the Mainland Bay City community, but is located at the bay as well, hence the name. From what I have observed, this community is teenage avatars-oriented (but not limited to) and is about cutesy and having all the fun in the world while one is young! Visitors will find the traditional Second Life activities out there – the live events venue, the shopping district, as well as several activities venues, and even a street train line across the entire place.

Thanks to Levi Clownski (israel.schnute)’s exhibit at SL13B, we have managed to discover his Olde Lapara Towne, a small town somewhere on Heterosera, connected to the Second Life Railroad, which has been built in the image of an arbitrary American city in the early 20th century. Evidently, the place has been built as a tourist attraction, where a resident or a group of residents can take a stroll across the city and take pictures, or take a tram ride. One can even stay for a week in the Grand Lapara Hotel – but just a warning, it is G-rated.

Hunts are an in-world activity one can learn more about at [insert URL here], and do residents love them – they are challenging, they give residents an opportunity to obtain quality and unique items at a bargain price (or even for free!), they introduce residents to stores and places, and they are just plain fun! HUNT SL is an organization which tracks hunts and promotes them for potential participants – both hunters and store owners can take a look at the website or the in-world location at any time and choose their next adventure.

– I could not have been to all of the SL13B events, therefore I have assumed all the events in the schedule to have taken place (except for those that I know for sure had been cancelled) – those who know more about what has been happening at the stages, please contact me with the correct information if you are inclined!

– There is a variety of ways exhibits could be counted. In my count, I did not include stages, the welcome area, the Time Capsule, and two spots reserved for the exhibits, but not having those at place. Also I assume the possibility of missing an exhibit or two, but no more than three. Therefore, the expected measurement error is +3.

– There were no official categories, so I came up with my own way to categorize. You, probably, have your own, too. I will provide explanations for all the categories I will separate the exhibits into;

– Categorization is subjective. Perhaps you would put an exhibit in a certain category, and I would not even consider putting it in that category. Let’s just agree to disagree here! Also, as a human, I could have made a calculating mistake. Expect the count of exhibits for each category to have a measurement error of 3 for art and SL communities exhibits, 2 for other categories that have gathered above 10 exhibits and 1 for the categories that have gathered 10 exhibits or less;

-Some exhibits fall into more than one category. Do not be surprised that by adding all the exhibits in all the categories you get a sum significantly bigger than my total count.

When I have promised myself and some of you to deliver a thorough list of all the fantastic finds at SL13B, I did not imagine that the physical world is going to occupy most of the time I expected to spend on the list instead. Now, I will be leaving the digital world for a week, again, not by my own will. I would hate to leave you (and myself) hanging in pointless anticipation, so here is my word: it will not be pointless. I will deliver. It will not be “too late”, either, for these places (most of them, anyway) are not going anywhere while I am gone.

Now that you have my word, before leaving, I would like to treat you with these completely unnecessary statistics of SL13B for some entertainment and perspective.

We will begin with live events.

A total of 459 various live events have taken place at different stages during the first week. Take a moment to appreciate the fact that all of those events have been provided by actual Second Life residents, and let us move on to the distribution of these events by categories.

First, we will take a look at the events that are quite unusual:

Saffia Widdershins of Prim Perfect/Designing Worlds had been tirelessly hosting Meet The [Community/Lindens/etc…] events throughout the entire week at the SL13B Auditorium, and has hosted 32 Meet The’s in total.

Some residents took time to prepare an actual presentation with the help of which they have introduced other residents to what they are doing on the Grid. 3 presentations had been held at the SL13B Auditorium.

SL13B even had seen 2 in-world classes – one on the roleplay and one on setting up the SAM broadcaster – that have taught the residents the actual skills applicable in Second Life!

We obviously cannot skip The Drax Show which happened to be a one-of-a-kind event of SL13B as well!

Evidently, Willow Scout Award Ceremony also took place at SL13B, although I do not know the details, for I had missed it.

SL13B visitors have got an opportunity to get acquainted with the in-world stand-up comedy, thanks to Lauren (lauren.weyland) and Catboy Qunhua, two in-world comedians. 2 events, dedicated to this form of performing art, took place at SL13B.

Catboy Qunhua has also hosted 2 Hollywood Squares games at SL13B!

And now, to more traditional forms of performing arts.

In total, 12 Performing Arts, which include theatrical plays, dance shows, and other forms of fine and modern performing arts, had found their audience at SL13B.

2 Tribute Concerts (a form of performing arts where avatars represent real life celebrities) have made it to SL13B as well.

Finally, here come the stats for the most prominent forms of live entertainment. Please note that some artists have performed more than once at SL13B, and therefore the number of events is close to, but does not equal to, the number of artists:

140 concerts by live musicians took place at SL13B – more than a third of all the events;

And 256 live DJ sessions – that is more than a half of all the events!

It took me some time to let these numbers sink in. It’s okay. The article is not going to go anywhere while you’re taking some time too.

Are you still with us? Brace yourself for the exhibits stats now.

In total, 197 residents and communities have joined SL13B in representing the Grid and what it consists of.

Almost a half, 88 exhibitors, have dedicated their exhibits to some forms of arts. A majority have constructed artistic installations not related or representing anything from the Grid. Other exhibits have represented art galleries, collaborative or by a single artist. 2 exhibits have been brought by the performing arts troops.

36 exhibits have represented a variety of Second life communities. I define Second Life Communities as communities which, even while partaking in a certain lifestyle for the sake of leisure, acknowledge Second Life as their primary virtual universe and take advantage of SL intrinsic options. One could discover all sorts of communities at SL13B, existing on the Grid, to potentially join – from spiritual communities to artistic havens to collaborative Grid settlements.

19 exhibits have represented roleplay communities. Roleplay communities are the ones that create their own world “within” Second Life, with the agreed constraints followed by participants. All the Second Life options are used only while “out of character”. Several of them use some kind of combat system in their roleplay, other base theirs on text interactions supported by animations. From the kids community to historical roleplays to entire theme-based collaborations of several roleplays, one could discover his or her passion for a certain lifestyle rich on the storyline at the expense of several constraints.

Both Real Life (RL) and Second Life (SL) educational institutions made their appearance at SL13B. In total, 7 Real Life institutions and 6 Second Life ones could have been discovered among the exhibits. Here, I define an institution as a RL one when it either represents a certain educational institution existing in the physical world or it teaches certain skills applicable in real life. An institution is considered a SL one if it teaches skills applicable in Second Life.

Don’t we all love doing something other than staying idle and decorating some photogenic spot with our avatar! At least 25 exhibits have introduced their visitor to some engaging activity existing on the Grid. I do not think this category needs an explanation. From competitive sports to traveling the Mainland to beloved Experiences-based quests, a resident could choose his or her new drug at SL13B!

Once we have done something active, it is nice to hang out someplace pleasant, relaxing and appreciating the surroundings. 5 exhibits have represented the areas of recreation around Second Life, with less activities than hangout spots.

Of course, a number of talented creators have their business on the grid up and running, and they got an opportunity to remind the residents that not only they can appreciate the quality creations, but sometimes they can take these quality creations home in their inventories. 15 in-world stores have found their representations at SL13B.

Next, let us turn our attention to those who spread the word about what is happening around the Grid – various forms of Second Life media. In total, we have got 4 web-based media (blogs, news websites), 1 in-world printed magazine and 3 TV shows (Youtube or Treet.tv-based).

This year’s theme of SLB is Shared Experience, and therefore it was to be expected that several exhibits would happen to be interactive experiences! To be precise, no less than 19 exhibits have offered their visitors some kind of interactive experience, be it an experience based on the newly added Experiences feature or simply created via in-world tools. Here, I define experience as some interactive adventure with a certain outcome, rather than a passive, or almost passive, observation of a static installation.

We cannot also forget those who fight for the right of the most vulnerable groups of people to be protected. 9 exhibits have represented various non-profit organizations, those that deal with people with complex health issues as well as living conditions issues.

Finally, let us consider 4 exhibits which have represented various traditional Second Life passive entertainment venues, such as nightclubs, to which we could also include 1 production company and make it 5.

Also, 11 exhibitors have centered their exhibits around inviting their visitors to take a rest at their exhibit, as if it could be possible among the buzzing atmosphere of SL13B. And 8 exhibitors have expressed the desire to send their visitors underwater, either through an experience or as an artistic installation…

That is all I have time for, unfortunately. I could also separate art exhibits into standalone artistic installations and the representatives of art galleries, count all the live singers (among those who performed at SL13B) who have themselves with a guitar as their profile picture, count the laziest exhibits, count the exhibits that had no information about what they represent… Oh well, a man can dream.

It would be enough to have a brief look at the events I feature on The Digitized to conclude that I love performing arts of Second Life. Second Life is made to take advantage of the visual component, and performing arts are doing exactly that. So one can imagine my excitement when I have inspected the first week events’ schedule and learned that a number of troupes have brought their shows to SL13B! From dance shows, to a circus, to a Broadway musical, the SL13B Auditorium has seen a number of performing arts that week. And since these troupes will continue performing on the Grid, it is worth bringing them up once more, so all the SL theatre lovers can watch their wonderful arts all year round now, until the next SLB.

Note: I will cover only the troupes whose performances I have watched in person, therefore not all of the performers will make the list. Sincere apologies to whom I have missed! Hope to catch you on the Grid!

Note 2: Some links are meant to be opened in Second Life, like in-world groups and locations. This can be done by simply clicking the link while logged in Second Life or copying the link, pasting it in the text chat (local, for example) within your viewer and pressing Enter. ((UPD) The first method does not seem to work, at least for me – I’m figuring out why. The second one does work. Please use it for now!)

At SL13B, The Night Theater has presented their exclusive dance show on Monday, June 20th, right before Meet The Lindens, and I have managed to catch the second half of it. The performers of The Night Theater have brought to life a number of fictional stories through the dance to the modern music, and one look at any of the acts would be enough to appreciate the quality of the choreography, the costumes and decorations, and the music, all put together in perfect arrangement. Most of the acts have depicted the mythological tales from the ancient times, which to this day trigger our imagination, and now have obtained a shape in a form of dance show.

According to the troupe’s website, The Night Theater specializes on themed dance shows and primarily performs at a variety of Second Life big events, such as Fantasy Faire, One Billion Rising, SL Scifi Con and, well, SL13B, although they also perform at their home theatre. They announce early and usually perform more than just one show, so it is worth checking their website from time to time.

How many of you know that there is an active stand-up comedy scene out there on the Grid? How many of you have been to the live comedy performance? I, for one, have stumbled upon something that looked like a stand-up comedy show on Treet.tv once – that was about five years ago, and since then, I have forgotten of its existence. Therefore, I cannot appreciate Catboy Qunhua, the in-world stand-up comedian, for taking his time at the Auditorium to introduce us to this form of the performing art. It felt unusual the first few minutes, but after a while residents have caught up and shared the laughter through voice and gestures. Catboy did not come alone, but brought a team of fellow comedians with him, who have done a couple of skits with him, as well as performed individually – those included ѠƳ ƝƠṰṰ (wyvern.blazewood), ThinkererSelby Evans (thinkerer.melville), and I’m pretty confident I forgot somebody else, and would appreciate so much if somebody reminded me whom I have forgotten.

Catboy does not promote himself, but according to the information in his profile, one can usually catch him every Tuesday at 5 PM at Lauren’s Place, where he joins other comedians in comedy live performances, as well as every Thursday at 5 PM at Hooligans Roadside Diner, where he hosts Comedy Night and Hollywood Squares – jot these times and dates down! If you forget them, search for his profile (if you manage to recall the spelling of his last name) and check out the Picks.

Another contemporary dance troupe has brought a number of dance acts to SL13B. Armed with stunning choreography and modern tunes to accompany it, Dance Xcetera had provided the Auditorium audience a fantastic experience, from a burlesque performance, to the oriental dance in the garden of Eden. For the last dance act, however, they have treated us with something particularly special… Have you ever thought of the rays of light as dancers on their own, weaving spectacular patterns with… themselves? The Dance Xcetera troupe has done exactly that, all on the plain black background, and one can truly appreciate the shapes and forms they have created in this unusual dance by the unusual performers.

Dance Xcetera provides us a number of ways to follow them, including my favourite kind of following – the in-world subscriber. According to the website, they perform once a month at their home theatre, as well as around the Grid at the events.

ACT did not limit themselves to the dance show alone, but took another form of art, the poetry, and have embedded it into their show to create something close to the actual musical! After the minor inconveniences with the stage that happened to be a tad bit too large for the Auditorium, “The Book of Love & Imagination”, with original poetry by Moon Aerandir (Bajoy) took the audience on the magical journey, following the main character, Alice, who becomes the witness and even the participant of the fantasy adventures she encounters. After the play, having about 20 minutes of the spare time, the audience has been invited to join the performers in the area in front of the stage to dance to the Celtic tunes, so the audience could themselves experience the magic of moving to this kind of music. Felt amazing!

Avilion Cameo Theatre happens to belong to the Avilion Arts association, which itself belongs to the Avilion roleplay community, therefore, though outsiders are welcome to watch the shows, the in-world announcements are available for the Avilion roleplay members only. The website, however, seems to be a sufficient source of information about the theatre itself and about the upcoming productions, therefore I recommend checking it out often – according to the “Upcoming shows” list on the sidebar, the theatre is very much active!

SL13B Auditorium audience has also been treated with the traditional Karyukai by Mitsuhana Okiya. The theme of their performance was the long, but so rewarding process of joining the family of these mysterious ladies who carry the art of the traditional Japanese entertainment throughout centuries. Step by step, act after act, the story of the young girl on her path to become a qualified geisha unfolds before us, accompanied by the text descriptions of the acts as well as the traditional Japanese music.

Mitsuhana Okiya is part of the authentic Japanese community – Gion Hanamachi, therefore joining their group to be informed about the upcoming events would be a great idea for those who would like to get acquainted with the Japanese culture and festivities, which this very active cultural community have a lot of!

Celtic arts, Japanese arts – since we are on the journey around the world already, why not join The Imperial Arts troupe and enjoy the authentic Chinese ballet? One could guess that something special is coming when the large custom stage took place at the SL13B Auditorium, and one would be very much right. The Imperial Arts have brought “Wu Xing: A Chinese Elemental Ballet” to SL13B, and in a series of spectacular dance acts, we observe the creation of perhaps the most fantastic phenomenon in the Universe – Life itself. Ironically, the performance starts with the destruction of life… But when various Elements come at play, step by step, we witness the formation of the new one!

The Imperial Arts specializes in oriental arts, primarily Chinese ad Japanese ones. One can stay informed about their performances by joining their in-world group or subscriber list.

Circus is something that fascinates us from the early age and up to when we are old and grey. One must have at least the slightest appreciation to these artists who take the human capabilities up a notch – and turn it into the form of art. That kind of art was exactly what the ChangHigh Circus troupe specializes in. That was what they gave us the pleasure to observe at SL13B Auditorium. Even though their performance took place early in the morning (8 AM SLT), they drew in quite a crowd with their colourful acts!

This fabulous troupe travels all over the Grid with their circus, mostly performing at art festivals and events. One can keep up with them by joining the in-world group or the subscriber list!

One can never go wrong with Broadway musicals, and Quill & Quarrel Theater took the challenge to bring exactly one of those, by the name of “KOWS” to SL13B. The original story about the small independent radio station fighting for the retention of its independence unfolded before the Auditorium audience and took us on the emotional journey, making us have a hearty laugh, frown, gasp in horror, shake our heads, or smile happily – and of course, making us dance in our chairs and hum or even sing along when we catch up with the lyrics! A truly interesting experience it was.

Quill & Quarrel Theater mostly tours the Grid, performing at a variety of Gorean roleplay locations. They perform pretty frequently, so I would recommend checking out their website for the schedules! In-world, one can keep up with them by joining the in-world group.

It is one thing to bring the existing play from the physical world to the digital one – and it’s completely another when the entire play, from the first word of the script to the last piece of the stage decorations, is done in Second Life for Second Life, from scratch. SL13B Auditorium Audience has got lucky to witness the premiere of the brand new play, “The Lucid Journey”, written by Fake Jewell (yes, this is a Second Life name) exclusively to be performed in the virtual world! The story invites us to unravel the mystery of the main heroine’s husband disappearance. Who would have thought dreams can be so powerful? I have crashed twice during the play, but that is the nature of SL13B – the play itself was truly engaging and original.

The Jewell Theatre appears to be pretty active in Second Life, but I have failed to find any way to follow the troupe and get informed about the upcoming plays other than via their Twitter. They mostly tour the Grid and perform their plays at various Gorean communities, therefore it is worth checking out their Twitter to catch them on the Grid!

Every performer and every troupe mentioned above has contributed to making SL13B so special and proving that performing arts sure have their place on the Grid. But their work did not end there, and now we all have the opportunity to continue following the arts they create all year round – let’s seize that opportunity and make our second lives richer!